And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judaea; for thus it is written through the prophet
Herod's question gets an immediate answer from the scribes. It comes not from the star, and not from palace guesswork, but from a written line of prophecy. The striking thing is how much these men know and how little they do with it.
The men from the east had a sign in the sky, but not an address.
When these strangers saw the star, they set out for Jerusalem, the traditional royal capital. When they arrived, God meets them; and it is remarkable how He does so. It is by His word, and His word interpreted by those who had not the smallest interest of heart in the Messiah. They were quite right in their interpretation; they knew where Messiah was to be born.
Even Herod had to open the book. There was nowhere else to go for a reliable answer.
It is a very striking thing that if you want solid information you must go to the Scriptures. Even that godless man Herod had to go to Scripture. Where did Herod get his information? From the pages of Scripture. And where do people get real light and truth today? Again, it is from the Scriptures.
The prophet named a small town, not the capital. Both its size and its name fit the One born there.
David was anointed in the house of Jesse the Bethlehemite. So it appears to have been the place of David's birth, and this is why Luke 2:11 calls it the "city of David." It was also the birthplace of Jesus. Though it was "little among the thousands of Judah," that matched His lowliness all the better. Bethlehem means "house of bread." That is a very fitting name for a place from which the Saviour should come as a man — He who was the living bread that came down from heaven.
Mary and Joseph did not live in Bethlehem. Getting them there took an empire — and that is exactly what God used.
The greatest interest of Bethlehem is that it marks the birthplace not only of David, but of his greater Son. God is overruling all, He brings this about. Joseph and Mary are at Nazareth, but Christ must be born at Bethlehem. And the decree goes out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. All the machinery of that vast empire is set in motion to bring God's purpose about. This is very comforting to His own.
These teachers gave the right answer and then stayed where they were.
The scribes in Herod's court hold the prophetic word in their minds, clear, full and correct. They can teach it to others. It is bright and exact in their intellect and memory. But they make no use of it themselves. A solemn sight indeed! They sent the men of the east on their way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the bright light of the prophet Micah. But they do not take one step along that road themselves.
Writers press this as a warning rather than as a curiosity of history.
Yet not one step did these men take in the direction of Bethlehem to see if the promised King was there. There is nothing more heartless than mere Bible knowledge without faith. Strange as it may seem, it is possible to go down to an eternal hell with the mind crammed with Bible truth.
There was a purpose in God letting visitors from another nation ask the question first.
Through these Gentiles He sent a testimony to Jerusalem about the birth of the Messiah. God knew how to do this, and to rebuke, through their testimony, those who should above all have watched for and welcomed their own Messiah.
Micah's sentence does not stop where the scribes stopped it. The next clause — quoted here from an older English Bible — says who this ruler is.
These scribes quoted Micah 5:2, and they mentioned the "Governor." But they chose to leave out the wonderful words that follow: "whose goings forth have been from everlasting," or, as the margin has it, "from the days of eternity." They hid the truth that this King was the Lord, Jehovah!
- Written. Micah's prophecy fixed the birthplace long before the birth. The answer to Herod was a quotation, not an opinion.
- Written for the seeker. The star brought the travellers as far as Jerusalem. Only Scripture told them where to go next, and even a godless king had to consult it.
- Written, then arranged. Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth. God set a whole empire's census in motion to bring the birth to Bethlehem, "the house of bread," the town of David.
- Written but half-quoted. The scribes named the Governor. They stopped short of "whose goings forth have been from everlasting" — the words that show this King is the Lord Himself.
- Written but not obeyed. They gave directions they never followed. Bible knowledge without love for Christ leaves a person right where it found them.
And *thou* Bethlehem, land of Juda, art in no wise the least among the governors of Juda; for out of thee shall go forth a leader who shall shepherd my people Israel.
Herod asks the scribes in his court where the Christ will be born. They answer at once by quoting Micah. The verse names a small town, a Ruler, and a people. It also leaves one question hanging: why did the men who knew the place never go there themselves?
Bethlehem had nothing to recommend it. The prophecy is the only reason anyone remembers it.
Bethlehem was of small consequence in itself, insignificant among the thousands of Judah, yet it was to leap into undying fame. And why? "Out of you shall He come forth to Me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
(The ESV puts that last line as "whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.") The town was not the only lowly thing lifted up by Him.
Here the Messiah, the ruler, appears in many glories, both personal and official. And poor Bethlehem, little in Judah, is honoured because of Him. His mother was the poor carpenter's wife of Nazareth. His birthplace was the poor town of Bethlehem. Both take honour and blessing because of Him.
Set this verse next to Micah 5:2 and the words do not match. Micah calls the town little; here it is by no means least.
The Gospel writer gives the sense rather than the exact words of the Hebrew or of the Greek Old Testament. Here the literal translation of the Hebrew does agree with the Greek.
Micah's sentence does not stop at the Ruler. The scribes' answer does.
"Bethlehem," said the scribes, and they quoted the prophet's words about the "Governor" who would rule God's people Israel (Micah 5:2). But they chose to leave out the wonderful words that follow: "whose goings forth have been from everlasting," or, as the margin note puts it, "from the days of eternity." They hid what this King really was: the Lord, Jehovah!
Those omitted words settle who this Ruler is.
He was born in Bethlehem. But that is not all, for "His goings forth have been of old from everlasting." He was a divine person. In grace He became a baby in Bethlehem, but He was Jehovah the true God of Israel.
Everything turns on the verb behind "rule" in this verse.
poimainō means to feed cattle, as in Luke 17:7. It is also used as a picture of feeding the flock or church of God (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2). Four times it is translated "rule," where it applies to the people of Israel and to the nations in a future day: Matthew 2:6; Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15. It comes from the root poimēn, "a shepherd," and may be translated "to shepherd," because it means care or oversight as well as feeding.
Micah's picture of the coming Ruler is more than a prediction.
That is God's thought of a true ruler… The true Shepherd of the sheep will never give up the service to which love set Him apart, whatever the circumstances. With love, rule is service, and how blessed the time when love alone shall rule!
The last words of the verse say whose Shepherd He is.
He was born into this world as the heir to David's throne. That throne had stood empty for centuries, waiting for its rightful and expected occupant. By birth He was the Shepherd of Israel (Matthew 2:6, Greek), for the Old Testament Scriptures use that title for kings… So all Israel were the sheep whose interests and welfare the Son of David would be expected to promote.
The tragedy of the verse is who spoke it.
The scribes in Herod's court hold the prophetic word in their minds, clear, full and exact. They can teach it to others… But they make no use of it themselves. A solemn sight indeed! They sent the men from the east on their way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the bright light of the prophet Micah. Yet they never take one step along that road themselves.
- Small town. Bethlehem was insignificant among the thousands of Judah. The Ruler born there gave it undying fame.
- Eternal Person. Micah's next line calls His goings forth "from everlasting." The Baby of Bethlehem was a divine person. The scribes quoted up to that line and stopped.
- Shepherd rule. The word for "rule" is poimainō, to shepherd; it carries care and feeding, not only authority.
- His people. By birth He is the Shepherd of Israel, David's heir to a throne empty for centuries, with all Israel as His sheep.
- Cold knowledge. The scribes pointed out the road to Bethlehem and never walked it. A right answer is not the same as taking the road yourself.